Elastic wheel.



S. C. HATFIBLD.

ELASTIC WHEEL.

APPLIOATION FILED Mul, 1913.

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S. C. HATFIELD.

ELASTICI WHEEL.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 1, 191s.

Patented Aug. 4, 1914.

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SUHU'YLEB C. HATFIELD, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ELASTIC WHEEL.

Specicetioa of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 1, 1913. Serial No. 764,831.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SCHUYLER C. HAT- rrnLD, a citizen of the United States oi' America, residing at the city of Baltimore, State ot Maryland, have invented certain new and uset'ul improvements in Elastic Wheels, ot which the following is a specification.

Flhis invention relates to various vehicle wheels and particularly to an .elastic wheel in which resilient means is interposed between the hub and spokes.

Tl e wheels of the general type to which the invention relates differ from the ordi-` nary rigidly constructed wheel in that the hub is mounted in a central circular aperture in the wheel and supported therein by means of an annular resilient member shown inthe form oit an annular pneumatic pad or n Vtire which encircles the hub and engages the wheel with its outer periphery. The hub is thus tree to` move relatively to the wheel proper in the direction et the radii thereof, hut all tcndi ency to lateral movement is positively re-y strained, and its movements in the direction out the radii are cushioned by means ot the resilient member referred to as a tire or pad.

positively resisting the lateral stresses, the torsional stress or torque of the road must be transmitted trom the wheel proper to the hub by i `illustrated fragmentarily.

way ot the pad, and it will be apparent that l a considerable tendency to slipping and conil sequent abrasion of the ad may resultd, rlihis tendency exists both etween the tire' and the wheel, and between the tire and the hub, but actual slipping is most apt to occur I in the latter instance, first, because the mol ment arm at this point is short and the stress which tends to produce slipping conse4 quently great, and second because infiationl of the tire to operative condition stretches, it, increases its inside diameter, and reduces the friction exerted by the tire on the hub. Such slipping and friction when they exist are objectional not only on account of the wear on the pad or tire, but because of the fact that with any appreciable de ree of slipping at this point, a considerab e rportion of the driving force would be 0st, and it the slip became excessive, propulsion of the vehicleVJ through the drive shaft and hubs would be rendered wholly impossible.

To overcome the diiiiculty thus .encoun-A tered and tasten the pad to the hub so that,

the chance of slip or rotation at this point 1s wholly eliminated, is the object oi my invention. To this end I have provided the pad or tire with a rib encircling its inner periphery, and to coperate with this rib I have provided annular seating bands which are keyed to the hub, and which not only form a grooved seat for the ad or tire, but are also adapted to inclose tiie rib and prevent undue distortion of this member. The bands are preferably perforated to receive Jfastening means which pass through the bands and through the rib which is correspondingly perforated. Thus the pad is positively secured to the hub and rotation relatively thereto is prevented. `While inflation ot the tire increases its diameter and prevents it trom adhering with suliicient tenacity to the hub, thc same increase of diameter forces the outer periphery of the tire against the encircling walls oit the aperture in the wheel so that with a suitable scat ing surface at this point, slipping of thc pad relatively to the wheel and consequent triction are so slight as to be negligible in practice.

In the accompanying drawings l have an elastic vehicle Wheel to which my invention in its preferred form has been applied.

In the drawings Figure 'l is a view of the central portion of a motor vehicle wheel, the view being divided on a vertical line passing through the center so that one haltl is a side elevation and the other half ou theeright of the view is a section taken on the line l, 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a vertical-central section of the hub and central portion of the wheel taken on the line of the axis. Fig. 3 is a side elevatori of one plate ring. Fig. 4 is a vertical, central section of the same. Fig. 5 is a detail of the hub.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of which is applied to the same or similar' parts of the different figures, the wheel, as shown, consists of two separate parts referred to herein as the hub l and the wheel proper 2, the hub being mounted wit-hin a central circular aperture 3A in the wheel proper inclosed by a ring 12 to which sockets 13 for the inner ends o the spokes are secured. The hub and Wheel are so formed thatwhile the hub is. permitted to move in the direction of the spokes or the radii of the wheel, all tendency to lateral movement is restrained as by means of suitable rammed aug. 4., ioziaf cover plates 4f bearing on flat circular surfaces l and 4 on the wheel and hub, re-

Iits periphery against the inner walls of the aperture 3. or more properly resting in the annular seat 'Tr' within the ring 12. 'lhis seat, as shown, is built up of two similar rings 8 curved on their inner periphery at 9 tu iit the contour oit the tire and a central flat ring 10: rlihese rings or seating members 8 and 10, as shown, are supported on blocks 11`which are spaced along the walls of the aperture 3 and securedto the ring 12 by any suitable means as bolts lilwhich hold the socket members 13 and the curved locking plates 13 therefor, the sockets being shown as tapered and fitting in tapered openings between the plates. 'f

l 'llhe important feature of the invention re sides in the means for securing the annular pad or tire 5 to the hub. This consists of two annular seating bands 15 and 15 which are curved to t the'tire and an internal rib 16,0n the tire. The bands are so placed that their curved portions 17 are oppositely disposed, and so related that they term a seat for the curved surfaces of the tire or pad 5. ln addition to the curved portion 17, each or the bands 15 and 15 has a V -shaped extension 18, the mouth 'of the V being inwardly disposed, and one arm of the V being in the form of a hat dange' or band 21 encircling the hub. The V-shaped members inclose the rib 16 on the tire andthe bands are held together by means oit bolts 20 parallel to the anis et the wheel and assing through the rib 16 and each band 15 and 15. 'llhe band 15 is provided on its dat internal surface 21 with studs 22 which may be screw-threaded and slotted as Shown. 'llhese tit in 'slots 23 in the hub provided for that purpose and'disposed in a directionparallel to the anis oit the wheel. The slots ertend inward from the end or the hub on the side adjacentwhich the ring 15 is placed. rlhe ring 15 is held by means oit studs 22 which project radially from the hub and enn gage notches 23 in the edge'oi the ring 15. The other features ot the hub, as the` bearings, etc., are fully illustrated in their operative relation and will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, but in this connection it will be clearly ap arent-that 1 the details vor the wheel and of t e hub, eX-

elusive et the features which lt have de-A scribed, are not'iimportant and may be designed to suit the trame.

Bymeans of the device described, the ad or'tire is rigidly secured to the hub sov t at rotation or the hub relatively to the tire for pad is prevented. Thus the tire may be License iniiated to any pressure found desirable without incurring the slightest possibility of freeing it from the hub whereby the members of the wheel will be permitted to rotate relativelyy to each other. By thus reducing or in tact eliminating the slip between the pad and the. hub and wheel member, the wear between the pad` and the rigid members of the wheel is greatly reduced and the life of the tire is correspondingly increased. ln addition to this the seating bands 15 form a convenient socket or vseat for the tire whereby the tendency to cut the tire is reducedo l l have thus described specifically a single embodiment of my invention in order that its nature and operation may be clearly understood. However, the specic terms herein are used descriptively rather than in their limiting sense and the scope 'of the in- 'vention is defined in the claims.

l claim- 1. lin an elastic wheel, a hub movable radially relatively to the wheel proper, a pneumatic pad encircling the hub, a rib on the pad projecting from its inner periphery,

the rib being of considerable width in a direction parallel to the aXis of the wheel and tapering toward the center oi' the pad, seating bands encircling the hub, oneI of the bands being keyed to the hub, the bands having curved portions to form a seat iiorl the tire, each band havinga if-shaped mem-- ber adapted to inclose part of the rib on thev tire and means in the form of bolts passing through each said member tor securing the bands one ,to .the other and forcing the bands together, clamping the rib between the bands. 2. ln an elastic wheel, a Wheel member having a central aperture, a hub mounted therein to move radially lrelatively to thewheel member, an annula pad encircling the hub and engaging with its periphery the inner wall of the aperture in the wheel, the pad having an'inwardly projecting rib, two seating bands each having an inwardly dislill@ posed curved portion forming a seat for the tire and a lit-shaped portion-adapted to inclose .part oit the rib on the tire,- the hub and the bands being connected to prevent relalille tive rotation and means for securing the bands to each other and forcing the bands together ,and clamping the rib between the bands.

' 3. lin, an elastic wheel consisting of a wheel membery and a hub mounted to move radi# ally in all directions relative to the wheel,

an. annular pneumatic pad between the hub 'i f and the wheel member, means for suporting the pad and securing it'to the hu coin' sisting oit two annular seating bands curved to hlt the pad, an internal rib von the pad, the bands being so placed that their curved portions are oppositely disposed yand sonre- 'ree lated that they form a seat for the curved inner surface of the pad, each of the bands also being provided with a V-shaped extension, the mouth of each V being inwardly disposed and one arm of the V being in the form of a flat flange or band encircling the' hub, the V-shaped members serving to in close the rib on the pad and a bolt parallel to the axle of the wheel and passin through the rib and through each hand, an a nut on the bolt by which the members traversed thereby are forced together.

4. In an elastic Wheel consisting of a wheel member and a hub movable radially in all directions relatively to the wheel, an annular pneumatic pad between the hub and the wheel member, means for securing the pad to the hub consisting of two annular seating bands curved to fit the pad and an internal rib on the pad each of the bands beinP provided, in addltion to the curved port1on with a V-sha ed extension, one arm of the V forming a at flange or band encircling the hub, the mouth of each V being turned inward,l the V-sha ed members serving to inclose the rib on t e ad, bolts passing through the bands an the rib and means coperating with each of the fiat bands for preventing rotation of the pad relatively to the hub.

Signed'by me' at Baltimore, Maryland, this 30th da, of April, 1913.

' SC UYLER C. HATFIELD. Witnesses:

ZELLA. KUHN, JOHN E. Cross. 

